Qantas has launched flights between Sydney and
Seoul, South Korea.
Qantas is operating the 11-hour flights to Seoul
four times per week during the peak summer season with Airbus
A330 aircraft. Flights will operate thrice weekly between May
and October.
The flights add to Jetstar’s thrice weekly Sydney-Seoul
service which commenced last month.
Together, the flights offer customers more than
200,000 seats on the route annually and the choice to fly to Seoul
on six days of the week, with either a premium or low cost
airline.
“What we’ve seen this year is that there is no
shortage of Australians wanting to travel overseas again and we
know South Korea is at the top of the list for many,” said Andrew
David, Qantas Domestic and International CEO. “Australia has also grown in popularity as a destination
for South Korean travellers, so we’re pleased to be welcoming more
visitors just in time for them to experience summer in Sydney and
beyond. We’ve had a fantastic response from travellers in both
directions since tickets first went on sale with strong demand
particularly around the upcoming peak school holiday period, which
is terrific for Australia’s tourism and small business operators.”
Seoul is one of the 28 international ports that
Qantas has resumed or launched new services to since Australia’s
borders reopened. Of the 28 international destinations, eight of the
routes are to countries that weren’t part of Qantas’ pre-COVID
network, including South Korea, Italy and India.
“We’re thrilled that the NSW Government’s Aviation
Attraction fund has created this opportunity to bring more people
from Seoul to Sydney, providing a boost for our tourism
operators,” said NSW Minister for Tourism, Ben Franklin. “In the year ended December 2019,
NSW welcomed approximately 196,200 visitors from South Korea,
accounting for $558 million in visitor expenditure and putting it
in our top five markets.”
To celebrate the new Seoul route, Qantas has
introduced a number of new Korean-inspired menu items inflight,
including beef bulgogi, vegetarian bibimbap and banchan.
